Taykell and his Maiden
by Trygvasson
Summary: A lot more verses to the quintessential tavern song well-loved by our Alissa in Dawn Cook's Truth books.


**Disclaimer: the first 5 stanzas (and the refrain) are in fact the ones from Cook's book** ** _Hidden Truth_** **. The rest are mine.**

Taykell was a good lad,  
He had a hat and horse.  
He also had six brothers:  
The youngest one of course.  
His father said, "Taykell me lad,  
I've nothing more to give ye."  
His name forsook, the path he took  
To go to find the blue sea.

Refrain: Oh, fathers wish for daughters,  
Something light and frilly,  
They leave the house to find a spouse,  
A blessing in it really.  
The land your father farmed on  
Divides among his sons.  
If this goes on much longer,  
Soon there will be none.

Taykell met a maiden  
As fair as summer's day.  
She found Taykell quite handsome  
And asked if he would stay.  
Pleased to find a hearth and home  
He quickly then said yes,  
But far too late he learned his fate,  
How could he but have guessed?  
(Refrain)

The maiden had a suitor,  
Of elegance refined.  
He treated her most genteelly,  
And with her was most kind.  
Stunned by the deep devotion  
And love her suitor shown,  
Taykell beat a swift retreat  
And soon set off alone.  
(Refrain)

Taykell's maiden all alone,  
She did some thinking long.  
Keeping house and drudgery  
To her seemed oh-so wrong.  
Doing what she wanted  
Instead of what she should,  
She stole a horse, ugly of course,  
And ran away for good.  
(Refrain)

She found Taykell a'pining  
By a tree within a wood.  
She snuck up close behind him  
To surprise him if she could.  
But he felt his love approaching,  
And spun with great delight.  
Into his arms, and simple charms-  
They kissed with all their might.  
(Refrain)

Taykell and his maiden  
Rode off to find the sea.  
They wandered where they wanted,  
So happy to be free.  
But as the miles behind them  
Extended beyond sight,  
Hunger crept upon them to  
Remind them of their plight.  
(Refrain)

They came upon a desert  
Of cold and shifting sands.  
No sustenance could they find  
Within these wild lands.  
But a great raku beheld them;  
Their suff'ring struck his heart.  
He flew them to the hills so death  
Would not the lovers part.  
(Refrain)

For many years they lived then  
With the raku and his kin.  
They met fantastic creatures,  
From elves, to gnomes, to djinns.  
But despite the lore they learned of yore,  
Of magic, and of song,  
They knew to live without their kind  
Forever would be wrong.  
(Refrain)

So, thanking the Fae most graciously,  
With promise to return,  
They left their caves of ebony  
And to their homes did yearn.  
Well-supplied with foods and maps,  
They crossed the desert drear,  
And made the journey to their farms  
Within a single year.  
(Refrain)

At home they were quite startled:  
A war had been and gone.  
Famine killed their fathers;  
Taykell's mother's face was wan.  
Still their brothers farmed there,  
Scarred from hardship past.  
They worked to till the choking earth  
And hoped their stores would last.  
(Refrain)

Taykell and his maiden  
Shared all the wealth they owned.  
They used spells that elves had taught them  
To coax their crops to grow.  
But magic only goes so far:  
The fields were bleak and bare.  
The winter stripped them to the bone,  
And it was worse elsewhere.  
(Refrain)

Next year they packed up all the stores  
And led their families west.  
To hill or dale it mattered not,  
But sea, it seemed, was best.  
At last, descending from great heights,  
They chanced upon the coast.  
Their brothers lept to fish and sail,  
And soon built their own boats.  
(Refrain)

The settlement was thriving,  
On fish, and salt, and sea.  
Their gardens bloomed fantastically:  
A big harvest to be.  
Happy with their families' joy,  
The lovers stepped aside.  
One night they left, homes bereft,  
To find their old raku guide.  
(Refrain).

Once again with foods and maps  
They crossed the desert drear.  
They climbed the mountains high and dark  
Within a single year.  
To the caves of ebony they came;  
Their friends met them with great cheer.  
They dined and danced and their romance  
Would last forever there.

 **Author's Note:** This is actually another one from my Deviantart page, if you're wondering. "Taykell's Adventure" is the tavern song beloved by all the world, especially Alissa, in Dawn Cook's _Truth_ series. The fun of the song is that only the first verse and the refrain are always the same-the audience/tavern-goers are supposed to make up the other verses every time, which of course leads to a significant number of naughty verses most of the time. I confess, I failed to adhere perfectly to Cook's rhyme scheme, especially the internal rhyming, but hey, poetry isn't my specialty.


End file.
